In Which PFO Has a Powwow… and Good
Times… on a Hot Spring Day in Long Beach, CA
by David W. Robinson

All photographs and image processing by
Robinson.

Community. Positive Feedback has always
been about creativity and community in fine audio. Ditto for
Positive Feedback Online, a gaggle of folks even more passionate
about audio than the PF gang was in days of yore. Good music goes
together with good people and good times, and since that’s true, every now
and again the PFO crew gets together for a powwow, just for the heck
of it. No business; just fun.

George Cardas once told me, long ago, a wise
thing: "David, don’t ever hang out with audio people that you wouldn’t party
with."

Amen, bro’ George!

Remember: I missed CES 2004 and a chance to see
an awful lot of the PFO’ers this year, due to the massive snow storm
that hit Portland in January. (See the opening pix in my deHavilland review at
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue12/dehavilland.htm for some shots
of Father Winter.) I was therefore way down on my audio party-hearty index,
and was looking for an excuse to finally fulfill my promise to Dave and
Carol Clark and drop in on them down in Long Beach. I also wanted to match
up some faces to the names, and renew friendships with so many of the fine
members of the editorial group in the LA area.

Which is what Lila and I were finally able to do
at the beginning of May. What follows is a photo album for our readers. I
don’t know about you, but I enjoy seeing and talking with the people in fine
audio even more than the gear or recordings. Don’t get me wrong: the
equipment and the recordings are an important part of what audio is
about—but the people who share our love are the heart and soul of the joy of
fine audio.

So here’s your chance to see some of the folks
who work hard to bring you PFO, just hanging out and having an
excellent time.

La Casa Clark in Long Beach… a cool place
on a hot day!

A view of Dave and Carol Clark’s audio system.
The gray panels are acoustical treatments; the red bars hanging on the wall
are one of many sculptures produced by Dave, who is quite a talented artist
in both metal and wood.

The PFO Gang, LA Branch, began to gather
just after 1:00 p.m. of a hot Sunday afternoon. Since it was going to hit
the mid-90’s, a number of people sat inside early on, sipping brewskis and
talking about—what else?!—music, recordings, equipment, LPs, SACDs, etc.,
etc., etc. In the photo above, Dan Meinwald (red chair, also designed by the
Davemeister) holds forth, while George Valley and his wife quaff cold ones.

On the left is Bob Levi, a senior member of the
PFO editorial team and Prez of the Los Angeles and Orange County
Audio Society (see their site at
http://laocaudiosociety.com). Bob is hob-knobbing with PFO
reviewer Danny Kaey, which is one heckuva wild and crazy pair!

Jeff Parks and his wife Denise taking it easy
during conversation in the dining room. As always in audio social
gatherings, there was a lot more talk than music!

Meanwhile, the rest of PFO LA was out
coolin’ its tooties and knockin’ down the brew on the back 40 of Casa
Clark. L to R, Martha Duran looking cool as she keeps an eye on
Francisco, the ever-dynamic Dave Glackin, the aforementioned Francisco
Duran, and Jim Grudzien. Groovin’ in the shade was the rule on such a warm
day.

Next to Dave and Francisco were more PFO’ers.
That’s Danny hamming for the camera; Roger Gordon looks relaxed in his blue
shirt… pretty amazing, considering it’s audit season! That’s our Roger: Mr.
Mellow (Which is what I’d guess you’d want in an accountant during an audit,
eh?) talking John and Stephanie Brazier.

Meanwhile, on the kitchen front Carol Clark was
whipping up some pretty incredible pasta salad, fried peppers, and other
treatniks. Carol does a great job on the food front… but is NOT available
for weddings, funerals, and bar mitzvahs! I really wanted to add to
my small but growing portrait series of "Carol with drink in hand" (signed
copies for sale by the arteest), but forgot to choose my moment this time
‘round.

It’ll have to wait until October’s Rocky
Mountain Audio Fest, I guess.

Be ready, Carol!

Here we have the estimable Editor Clark, in the
middle of a dog, friends ‘n brew session with the Parks and Spyder the
Nipper Substitute.

Dave and Spyder didn’t just stand about, though…
nay, not they! Here we have Spyder licking the sausages clean, just before
Dave puts them on the barbecue.

See? See how clean they look?! Good dog!
Good dog, Spyder!

I should also note that the BBQ above nearly
claimed the life of Editor Clark, when the 140 octane jet fuel that he was
using to soak the charcoal mysteriously blew up when he innocently
brought a match within five feet of the soggy Kingsfords. Yon editor was
picked up out of the nearby tub of beers, where he leaped to avoid the
apocalyptic fireball that scorched him. Talk about commitment to the good of
the order!

Hmmm. Come to think of it, I count ten brown
sausages above. Now I know what the EMTs did with the fingers….

The shenanigans of self-immolating mortals cut
little ice inside, where a vigorous love fest with LPs was going on. Here we
have a beaming Bob Levi, digging some Schubert done by Walter on licorice
pizza. Six-eye pressing, no less!

During the LP discussion, I saw an opportunity
to do a portrait of good friend Dan Meinwald, executed in fresco.

Here we have the folks outside studiously
ignoring the highly singed Maestro Clark, standing discreetly to the side,
stage left. No, you just can’t keep a good audiophile down…

…particularly our fearless Associate Editor
At-Large, Dave Glackin. Give this man a Negra Modelo, a GPS, and a
comfortable chair, and he’s ready for the food to arrive!

But all is well afterwards, as Rogerus and Danus
reaffirm their friendship.

Suzanne Gordon and Lila Ritsema (PFO’s
Business Manager) never bother with ‘phile phoolishness, stick to the
drinks, and avoid all talk of SACDs and vinyl.

Dave does survive his blast, grows back his
fingers, gets back to work on the barbecued sausages, and life is good in
Long Beach. I couldn’t resist a neo-post-modern interpretation of the scene…
and actually, it’s a helluva good photograph.

Help was on the way, though. Dave and Carol
delivered the chow, helped by good folks like Durans (terrific enchiladas!)
and the beer brought by just about everybody. This is what audiophile
communities ought to be about… not the sorts of wrangling and bad
times that happen far too often. I haven’t had this much fun with audio
friends in a long time.

Lila and I had to leave too early, but this is
our record of a nearly perfect afternoon with some very special friends.
These are some of the people who bring Positive Feedback Online to
you, and who work hard to make it a superior read for you all.

We thought you should know them.

Missing locals are Art Shaprio, Larry and Simone
Cox, Steve Lefkowicz, Ed Morawski, Fown-Ming Tien, Greg Ewing, Jim Merod,
Carlo Flores, and Mark Katz who all for one reason or another were unable to
attend.